Lens changes caused by injury to the anterior part of the lens were studied with
Procion yellow as an extracellular tracer and by transmission electron microscopy at different time intervals after
trauma. Both rats and rabbits were used. The findings were related to the
slit-lamp appearance of the wounded
lenses. In the rat lens a posterior subcapsular
cataract developed within the first hour after
trauma. Within 1 hr after injury the fluorescent tracer was seen at the
wound but was also conspicuous at the posterior pole. Swelling of lens fiber cells and the formation of large syncytical aggregates were found as the posterior opacity enlarged. These changes reached the anterior subcapsular cortex via the equatorial cortex after about 1 month. In the rabbit lens a slight cellular swelling was seen in the subcapsular cortex. Only in one of 15
lenses a posterior subcapsular opacity developed after about 1 week in spite of a large
wound. The uptake of
Procion yellow was most prominent in the
wound area and was never observed at the posterior pole. In both species, no further penetration of the
dye occurred through the
wound after the epithelium, by regeneration, had sealed the
wound. The importance of epithelial
wound sealing and that of a restored cellular barrier at the posterior pole are discussed as well as the significance of these factors in the
cataract progression.